October 2, 2024 | Volume 14, No. 40

Praying in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth, creator of all that is: we lift up to you all who are displaced, distraught, and devastated by Hurricane Helene. Grant comfort to the hurt, healing to the wounded, rest to the weary, aid to the responders, and your peace which transcends all understanding and to those who are afraid. We pray for your presence and grace to be made manifest to all people. All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-written by the Rev. Dr. Porter C. Taylor for Good Shepherd in Augusta

FEMA Resources

If you are in need of aid, please visit the FEMA website.

• FEMA Website
• Overview of updates
• Displacement Assistance Overview
• Displacement assistance survivor scenarios

Church Insurance of Vermont had a crew with a crane on site last evening at St. Bartholomew's on the south side of Savannah. The historic church had a large pecan tree collapse the roof of the sanctuary.

Donate to the Bishop's Fund for Disaster Relief

We have received a number of inquiries from outside of the Diocese about where to send donations for Disaster relief. The first way to do this is to donate directly to the Bishop’s Fund for Disaster Relief. This money will go directly to helping our parishes and Honey Creek in meeting their deductibles as they repair damages to their properties, which is a needed type of aid that is not covered by other grants. Once those initial costs are covered, any leftover donated funds will be used for additional assistance as needed.

Donations can be sent by check to the diocesan office(18 E 34th Street, Savannah, GA 31401) or by texting "EDOG Relief" to 73256 or by clicking this link for the Realm giving portal: https://onrealm.org/EpiscopalDioces91807/-/form/give/relief

The second way to provide aid across the Diocese is to give to Episcopal Relief and Development. ERD provides grants to dioceses to help them send direct aid to the most vulnerable in their communities impacted by this disaster. Donations can be sent to ERD’s Hurricane Relief fund by clicking this link: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/give/donate-now/individual-donation/

This is the damage to St. Bartholomew's, with the ceiling in the sanctuary collapsed, as seen from the intact nave of the church.

This pine tree is on the roof at St. Andrew's in Douglas, yet the congregation was able to move forward with a meal in the parish hall to feed the hungry in the community where services are slow to recover.

Assessing Damage and Assisting Neighbors

Across the many towns heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene, we know of significant damage to four churches and a heavy clean up needed at Honey Creek. Beyond this, many of the communities of the Diocese of Georgia are overwhelmed by the scale of the damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The recovery will be a long one in towns including Valdosta, Douglas, Vidalia, Louisville, Swainsboro, and the Augusta area.

The photo shows a downed tree at Christ Church in Augusta, where the building was spared and the Byllesby Center is continuing to serve the community.

Damaged Church Buildings

The churches at Christ the King in Valdosta, St. Andrew's in Douglas, St. Bartholomew's in Savannah, and the parish hall at Good Shepherd in Swainsboro all suffered in the storm. This is in addition to minor damage to many other church buildings as well as so many trees that need to be cut up and removed from church property.

While the insurance will cover much of the cost of the repairs, the deductible in a "named storm" like Helene, is 2% of the value of each of the buildings with a loss. This leaves the congregations with $8-10,000 deductibles or more instead of the usual $1,000. This is a heavy burden the Diocese will lighten. Some of the funds given to our disaster response will assist with this need.

This photo shows one of the two pine trees that crashed through the roof of the parish hall at Good Shepherd in Swainsboro.

Honey Creek Update

Our retreat center was largely spared damage to the buildings. The exceptions are roof damage to the Dock Study building and a pine tree that fell on Jonnard Cottage, leaving minor damage to the roof. But there are a lot of trees down all over the property. Thanks to the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers network, we will have 20 volunteers from the Diocese of South Carolina's Camp St. Christopher working on the grounds on Thursday and Friday. If you would like to join their efforts, there is plenty of work to go around. Let our Executive Director, Dade Brantley, know you will be there (dade@honeycreek.org).

The photo shows the pine tree that landed on the corner of the roof at Jonnard Cottage, without breaking through the ceiling.

Assisting Neighbors

There are so many efforts underway, that we can't report on them all, but across the Diocese, congregations are offering assistance to their communities. This includes the Byllesby Center in Augusta providing daily hot meals. yesterday they fed more than 150 people, while also offering lots of water as the county has a boil water advisory and many are not able to do so without power. Saint Paul's in downtown Augusta has been opening the church to provide electricity and wifi in a rare Augusta building with air conditioning. They have also offered a meal, with chicken chalupas and ham gumbo served yesterday.

Photo of volunteers stacking up bottled water for distribution at the Byllesby Center.

An Episcopal Relief and Development Grant

Bishop Logue has secured a grant from Episcopal Relief and Development, which will assist in our congregations providing direct assistance to our neighbors in the greatest need. Additional grant funds are available from ERD if we use up this grant and are still responding to individuals and families whose lives are impacted by Hurricane Helene.

If your congregation is prepared to assess the needs and distribute money in the form of gift cards to those with a verified need, please contact Canon Loren Lasch (llasch@gaepiscopal.org). The money may also be used to purchase items like bottled water for distribution.

St. John's in Savannah is moving ahead today with their effort to pack food for kids in need.

This crumpled roof covering an aged flat roof is over Christ the King in Valdosta.

Parishioners across the Diocese have been working to clean up the debris. These photos from Our Savior in Martinez and Trinity in Statesboro capture some of this faithful service.

Convocation Council Canceled

This Thursday’s online Convocation Council meeting is canceled. We know the majority of our Diocese is still with power or reliable cell service, and your focus rightly needs to be on disaster relief for your communities. 

The Convocation Deans will be in touch ahead of Diocesan Convention to walk Convocation Council members through the process of electing your Convocation’s representative to Diocesan Council, which was to be the main order of business for the online meeting. In the past we have also shared the Diocesan and Honey Creek budgets at this meeting. In lieu of this, the budgets will be made available ahead of Convention.

Funeral for the Rev. Tom Arledge on Saturday

The previously announced funeral for the Rev. Tom Arledge will still be held this Saturday at 11 am at Christ Church in Cordele. Arledge was a retired priest of the Diocese of Atlanta who devotedly cared for Christ Church Cordele for 13 years in retirement. He also held weekly worship services at Pulaski State Prison. Ordained in 1971, he had worked for Lockheed Research Lab prior to seminary.

He had been married to Lora since 1963. They have three children and five grandchildren in addition to step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bishop Logue will officiate and preach. Clergy are encouraged to attend. Vest in cassock, surplice, and white stoles.

Upcoming Events

New Beginnings #62

Where: Honey Creek

When: October 18-20, 2024

Participant Registration here

Diocesan Convention

Where: UGA Tifton Conference Center

When: November 8-9, 2024

Happening #110

Where: Honey Creek

When: November 22-24, 2024

Participant Registration here

Conflict Transformation Training

Where: Honey Creek

When: January 27-31, 2025

If you would like to have your submission considered for From the Field, it needs to be sent to Communications Manager Liz Williams (lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org) by noon on Tuesday.

Our one-year prayer cycle combines prayers for every congregation in the Diocese of Georgia with prayers for our ecumenical partners and for our Companion Diocese of The Dominican Republic.    

The 2024 one-year prayer cycle is online here: 2024 Prayer Cycle.    

October 6 - 12 In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Statesboro, Trinity. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Statesboro, especially St. Matthew’s Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for The Annunciation (La Annunciación) in Santiago. 

October 13 - 19 In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Thomasville, All Saints, Good Shepherd, and St. Thomas and for their work at the Oak Street Episcopal Mission. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Thomasville, especially St. Augustine’s Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Luke (San Lucas) in Santiago.

Updated 31-Day Prayer Cycles - Revised August 1, 2024

We also offer 30-day prayer cycles for those who wish to pray daily for the clergy and clergy spouses: Diocesan Prayer Cycle and Clergy Spouses Prayer Cycle.

Bishop Logue is in Thomasville this evening for a presentation on the church's architectural history by Eric Menninger. This evening is an opportunity to learn about the buildings’ past and the recent projects the church has experienced in its architectural restoration efforts. Bishop Logue is supporting fundraising efforts for the historic church and school.

Picture: Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta held Eucharist by candlelight on Sunday. Bishop Logue preached and the new rector, the Rev. Dr. Porter Taylor celebrated the Eucharist ahead of his starting work at the congregation on October 1.

On Saturday, our bishop will preside and preach the funeral for the Rev. Tom Arledge, which will be held at Christ Church in Cordele. Clergy are to vest and process in cassock, surplice, and white stoles.

Bishop Logue will make his visitation to St. Francis of the Islands in Savannah this Sunday for their 50th Anniversary.



To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. Updated 1/16/2024

Staff e-mails can be found here with a list of responsibilities so you know who to contact for what.

You may also reach diocesan staff by phone at (912) 236-4279.